Syon Park’s Tropical Forest is celebrating the arrival of its 500th resident this week. Christine Fleming visited the zoo to find out why it is still so popular 20 years on from the rescue of its first animal
There’s an old adage that everyone has a story to tell – it’s just a case of digging deep enough.
These stories can be happy or sad, they can make you want to laugh or cry, or in the case of the animals of Syon Park’s Tropical Forest they can simply be heartwarming.
And while we can’t talk to our furry friends, thanks to a novel idea by the zoo owners to mark the arrival of their 500th resident, visitors can now read each of the animal’s stories for themselves.
As Russell Dickens, the zoo’s marketing manager, explains: “The rescues range from unwanted pets to others that have been smuggled in to the country illegally and seized – every single animal has a story to share.”
Tony Purdy, 64, the zoo’s founder, added that the display of tropical zoo stories was not just a chance to learn how the animals had come to be there but a way to get children interacting with them.
He said: “ It’s good that visitors know the history of the animals and where they come from. It’s not just any old animal then but it has a name and a story about what it has been through.”
Mr Purdy also said that part of the reason the zoo had been so successful over the years was because it was so interactive and had a closeness that other zoos lacked.
He said: “Kids will learn more here than in a classroom and remember it as it’s hands on. We do what we can to get everyone involved and fired up about saving animals and the environment.”
The zoo, which is home to hundreds of rescued creatures and has been run by the Purdy family for 20 years, is full of crocodiles, snakes, monkeys and birds whose life stories have been jotted down and pinned to their cages.
There’s park favourite Rolo who was rescued from a freezing cold garden shed by the RSPCA. Rolo, a Bolivian monkey, was found abandoned in his owner’s shed and spinning around in circles around out of madness.
After having made a new home at the zoo, the inquisitive monkey has learned to love humans again and enjoys being fed worms by visitors.
There’s the story of Mango the molluccan cockatoo who was seized at Heathrow after a failed attempt to smuggle him in to the country. The snowy white bird had suffered a smashed lower beak but after being cared for in Syon has learned to trust again.
And there is the story of the zoo’s original resident, George the cockatoo, who was found wandering down a busy road 20 years ago, and who this week had the chance to meet the newest resident Malinky the baby kinkajou.
Mr Dickens said: “Nobody ever claimed him and so we have looked after him ever since. This week he met Malinky, the latest rescue, who was seized by customs and is only a little baby.”
The Brentford-based zoo, which is a favourite with both adults and children in the area, also offers regular show-and-tell sessions where visitors can hold the animals.
Alice O’Reilly, 36, of Tudor Road, Hampton, said: “This is our third time at the zoo – the kids love it. They especially like the bit where they have the show and the animals come out for them to touch.”
Deborah Botes, 36, who travelled from Uxbridge with her children, said: “It’s quite an experience really. We’ve really enjoyed it, especially the feeding and holding the animals.
It’s like a day out and educational visit for the kids at the same time.”
Despite its popularity, the zoo is being forced to move from its 20-year home to make way for the new Syon Park Hilton hotel development.
Mr Purdy said although the zoo was in talks with Hounslow Council over a newly-suggested plot of land for them to move to, the non-profit organisation would struggle to fund the building of a whole new facility complete with the required animal enclosures.
He said: “We’re trying to raise funds pretty quickly within the next two months or so as we have to be out of here by the end of September. It’s going to cost £1.5m to £1.6m in total to move and we still need another £500,000.”
He said what the zoo needed was a few more months to get everything ready so they would not have to move the animals to temporary accommodation while they prepared the new site.
Mr Purdy added: “If the hotel group or the Duke of Northumberland could grant us just another six months then we wouldn’t have to rehouse the animals otherwise they will have to be in temporary housing for a bit.”
Land opposite the Urban Farm, Bedfont, is being considered as the new site for the zoo.
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